Hosts of the Birmingham SX Review Podcast led with an officiating controversy after Round 10 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship in Birmingham, Alabama. Jason Thomas, Jason Weigandt and Steve Matthes recapped the event and called AMA Supercross’s penalty decisions “nonsensical” after a controversial penalty assessed to Haiden Deegan; they argued officiating became a defining storyline of the weekend.

Coverage also emphasized notable rider performances: social posts and the SMX World live blog described Hunter Lawrence as having dominated the night, while the podcast reviewed that performance in detail. The hosts characterized Eli Tomac’s outing as poor—he was forced to battle through the LCQ—and discussed how that result affected his overall weekend. The podcast also examined the opening 250SX East/West Showdown, noting key moments and implications for the 250SX class.

The SMX World live blog aggregated highlight reels, postrace interviews and on-the-ground social updates, including a rider saying they were “glad to be leaving healthy” and “excited for the following weekend.” Together, the podcast and live coverage combined race analysis, rider-specific critique and criticism of officiating to frame Birmingham as consequential both for championship momentum and for officiating narratives.

The 250SX East/West Showdown in Birmingham is the season’s first combined 250SX race and is shaping up to have outsized championship consequences. By bringing East and West riders together on the same track on Saturday, the format concentrates more top 250SX talent into a single race, raises the stakes for every contender and increases the chance of large points swings; the structure also makes even small mistakes especially costly. Organizers and observers say the event’s format, timing and a closely bunched leaderboard set the stage for a potentially wild night and significant shifts in championship momentum.

The East standings are razor-thin heading into the Showdown: Cole Davies leads by one point over Seth Hammaker, while Pierce Brown and Jo Shimoda sit one point behind Hammaker and are tied for third. Because the Birmingham race is the first of three events this season where 250 West and 250 East riders meet head-to-head, a winner in Birmingham could leap to the overall points lead, underscoring how pivotal a single result can be in the title chase.

Back in the paddock, teams and riders returned after a weekend off to prepare for practice and race sessions, with bikes described as looking especially polished as preparations ramped up. MXA’s Brian Converse walked the pits and reported on the close-quarters atmosphere and equipment, and the preview framed race-week momentum and paddock preparation as factors that can influence performance at Birmingham. The event also serves as the 10th round of the 450SX season, where Eli Tomac and Hunter Lawrence were presented as clear title favorites entering Birmingham while Cooper Webb and Ken Roczen were noted as needing sizable shake-ups in the points to re-enter contention.

Quad Lock Honda Racing confirmed that Joey Savatgy will miss the Birmingham round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross after breaking the medial cuneiform in his left foot at Indianapolis.

The team said he tried to manage the injury with taping, bracing and painkillers but experienced too much pain and elected to rest an extra week. At Indianapolis he finished 7th and 5th in earlier mains, then landed awkwardly in the third main and did not finish.

Through 10 rounds Savatgy sits sixth in the 450SX standings, with his best results this season two fifth-place finishes in San Diego and Daytona. The team described the absence as a short-term schedule change rather than a season-ending prognosis, and Savatgy is aiming to return at round 11 in Detroit.

HEP Suzuki announced that Justin Bogle will return to Monster Energy AMA Supercross to fill in for Jason Anderson, who is out of competition for health and personal reasons. Bogle is scheduled to re-enter the 450SX class at round 10 in Birmingham on March 21, ending a 3-year, 10-month gap since his last 450SX start on May 7, 2022, when he finished 12th at the Salt Lake City season finale.

He will ride for Twisted Tea/HEP Motorsports Suzuki (branded as Twisted Tea Suzuki Presented by Progressive Insurance) alongside teammate Colt Nichols. HEP Suzuki said the signing gives the team a known rider with recent international and arena experience while Anderson addresses his health and personal matters.

A 2014 250SX East champion, Bogle last raced for Twisted Tea/HEP Motorsports in the 2022 Pro Motocross Championship. Since 2022 he has competed in the FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX) and AMA Arenacross for Stark VARG, most recently riding a Stark Varg electric motorcycle in WSX events. Bogle said he was “so excited and super grateful” to rejoin the team and “can’t wait to shake some rust off.”

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki and rider Cameron McAdoo — together with team owner Mitch Payton — announced Tuesday that McAdoo will skip the Birmingham Supercross East/West Showdown after scans confirmed he fractured the top of his humerus in a heat-race crash at the Feb. 14 Seattle round.

McAdoo still rode to a fifth-place finish in the Seattle main. He described the injury as “a little bit more than just a monkey bump,” said it was not season-ending and posted that he was “super bummed” and would “see you guys very soon out there.”

Pro Circuit Kawasaki framed the absence as a temporary setback: through six rounds of the 250SX West McAdoo rebounded from a 22nd-place opener to five straight top-five finishes, including three podiums, and stood sixth in the standings. The 250SX West does not race again until St. Louis on April 4, providing additional recovery time before the series resumes.

Nick Romano, 21, has returned to factory machinery with Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki, a move he called “a dream come true.”

A product of Kawasaki Team Green’s amateur ranks, Romano raced for Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing from 2019–2024 and moved on in 2025. Sources differ about that year: one report says he signed with Phoenix Racing Honda and suffered a knee injury at the 250SX East opener in Tampa that required months of rehab and a Southern California boot camp; another report says he ran a privateer program through 2025 and hit a low point late in the year, including a period in October 2025 when he did not even own a dirt bike.

According to reporting, the Pro Circuit opening followed Drew Adams’ thumb injury at the Daytona Supercross; Romano accepted Pro Circuit’s offer one week after Daytona, flew to join the team, and credited reconnecting with owner Mitch Payton (and ongoing contact with Payton and his agent Jimmy Button) for providing a path back to factory equipment. Now back on factory equipment with Pro Circuit Kawasaki, Romano is riding and training hard and says his focus is staying fit and race-ready as he prepares for the 2026 season and upcoming races.

The Birmingham Supercross is the 10th round of the 17-round Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and is scheduled for Saturday at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama. Following a weekend off, the series resumes in Birmingham as it continues its run toward the championship.

Qualifying will air on Peacock at 1 p.m. Eastern / 10 a.m. Pacific, and Peacock’s live night coverage — beginning with the heat races — starts at 7 p.m. Eastern / 4 p.m. Pacific; NBC will air an encore presentation of the night show on Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern / 10 a.m. Pacific.

Birmingham is also the first of three 250SX East/West Showdowns this season, counting as round seven for 250SX West and round four for 250SX East. RM Fantasy SXperts published a short preview with predictions and cited the recent Indianapolis triple crown — won by Hunter Lawrence, with Eli Tomac and Cooper Webb finishing behind him — to shape expectations for the round and the ongoing title races.